I've only been flying a few months, no instructor, no field, pretty much never seen anyone else fly in person. Alot a folks here talk about rough landings. I only have a 24oz MM Magpie so maybe that its, but i have never crashed on final approach. Most of my learing crashes were orientation errors and low altitude banks. I usualy point it into the wind and gently cut power for easy belly landings. no prob

Is landing more difficult with heavyer models, or could it be the airfol stall speed of non trainers?

Trainers such as the Magpie are designed to fly slowly due to the large wing area in relationship to the weight. The lower the wing loading the gentler the airplane flies. Consequently, you can point it into the wind and land gently, as you do.

Trainers also have dihedral in the wings which makes them self righting. If you get them out of shape in the air and let go of the sticks, they will return to level flight, if you have enough altitude and airspeed. Don't run of one or the other. That is why you learn to fly 3 mistakes high, say at least 100' up.

Heavier models have higher wing loadings and therefore must land at higher speeds. Sport models have less or no dihedral in the wings, so they tend to go where you point them. If you point them at the ground, that is where they go, unless you say different with the sticks.

As you learn to fly, don't just go out and tear up the sky. The most important thing you must learn is to make the airplane do what you want it to do. The term in full size and model flying is to stay ahead of the airplane.

When you fly, pick one maneuver, say a figure 8,(horizontal not vertical) and fly it over and over until you can fly it consistently. Then fly a rectangular pattern with the runway as one leg of the pattern. Fly upwind, turn left to a crosswind leg, then turn downwind, then left to another crosswind and then upwind down the runway again. The pattern you just flew is the landing pattern. Keep doing until you can do it perfectly every time.

Then work on touch and goes. If you don't have landing gear or a good place to land, bring her down to a foot or so above the ground, then add power, don't jam on full power, gently and climb out at a 30* angle, fly the pattern and do it again.

Do all this until you are sick of it and then do it some more.

When you are able to make your Magpie do what you want it to do every time, then you are ready to move up to another more sporty plane.

If you don't make those low altitude turns, you won't crash so often. Practice them 3 mistakes high.

Good job, Cyberwolf! Get any computer sim time? I was a loner too and it was a tough time back then before sims and the net. Even the free sims will give you real skills- and no Q goes unanswered these days with the net.

I find landings to be easy and a real high point in the flight with my big gliders. The heavier stuff (higher wingloading) has to move more air to keep it up so you need to keep them moving all the way in and not let the nose come up.

They will all stall if you fly them too slow- but the hotter ones will probably drop one wing first (and lose more altitude in recovery) and now you are in a steep bank near the ground wishing you had been flying a bit faster- or had flaps to lower your landing (and stall) speed!

Every class of plane does ONE THING well. Some float, others scoot. They are very different in performance and piloting to specs and construction. Somebody loves every one of them- but you really gotta pay attention with a high performance plane!

I think the change in speed has something to do with it as you go bigger and sportier the landing speed increases and can make some people uneasy just like if I put a 2x4 on the ground you can walk down it without a problem now if I put it 20 feet in the air all of sudden you will not be as easy walking across it even though it no harder to do it just the height has now entered you mind just like landing faster take time to get used to the increased speed but all the same principles apply glide slope, speed and flair

''To those who defend it freedom has a ring the protected can not hear''Thank You Uncle Henry 4-April-1945